204 



PINE WARBLER 



almost every year. So it is more than likely an occasional pair has 

 bred here." {Thayer, MS.) 



Song. — The sweet trill of the Pine Warbler is one of the most 

 characteristic bird notes in the great pine forests of the south. In 

 Florida the birds are in full song by February i and are frequently 

 heard during the winter. 



"The song is a rather slow, monotonous trill ; the key varies much, 

 being sometimes lower than that of any other Warbler song with 

 which I am familiar, and always lower than that of the Worm-eating, 

 which it somewhat resembles in other respects. I have heard the songs 

 in these two keys following each other so closely that it seemed 

 probable they were executed by the same bird. These songs are 

 uttered at all seasons, I think; certainly not more than a few weeks 

 in December mark a cessation. 



"The ordinary call-note is a rather soft, lisping, chirp somewhat 

 like that of the Parula Warbler. During courtship, and while the 

 young are being fed, a rapid and insistent chipping is common. Some 

 pugnacity is displayed by the males during courtship; but no obvious 

 attempt is made to show superior advantages in color or song ; indeed, 

 the commonest note then appears to be the rapid chipping I have 

 mentioned." {Allison, MS.) 



"Its common song is clear and sweet; an unbroken, fluent trill, 

 with a tone and character at once distinguishable from those of other 

 trilling wood-birds of New England ; — the Junco, Chipping Sparrow, 

 Myrtle Warbler, etc. It is uttered on an even scale, but is often cre- 

 scendo in its first half and diminuendo in its second. I have heard 

 no other song from this Warbler, and no important variations of this 

 one, either in New England or in the South. The bird seems to be 

 about the least versatile singer of its tribe." {Thayer, MS.) 



Nesting Site. — "In this section (Statesville, N. C.) the nest is 

 usually placed on a horizontal limb thirty — ^but varying from eight 

 to fifty — feet from the ground." {M'Laughlin^.) "The nest is 

 always placed in a pine, the two species {Pinus mitis and P- taeda) 

 being used about equally, but the situation varies a great deal. It may 

 be on a horizontal limb, or built among the small twigs toward the 

 end of the limb; in whichever position, it is put there to stay and 

 takes a good deal of pulling to get it away. It may be close to the 

 trunk or as far ofif as fifteen feet. The height too varies from twelve 

 to eighty feet, the usual height being from thirty to fifty feet." 

 {Brimley*.) 



Nest. — "The outer portion consists of long, thin strips of bark 



